Vans Teams Up With Designer Christian Joy – Glitter On The Wet Streets

Vans, what can I say. I skateboard in them. It’s been part of the scene in Los Angeles for such a long time. Then you get Vans teaming up to help make the Warped Tour happen.

Now, If you’ve ever seen the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in concert, you’ve encountered the gleefully deranged costume work of DIY designer Christian Joy – and you probably haven’t forgotten it. Known best as the woman behind Karen O’s confoundedly awesome costumes, Joy is a truly original treasure of New York fashion, and her uninhibited designs have earned her a decade-long cult popularity among musicians and style explorers alike. The more approachable end of her looks encompass deconstructed tutus, decorative capes and busy one-pieces, while the more avant-leaning styles transcend costume altogether and border on wearable art installations. While her work with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs siren put her on the map – a 2002 renegade fashion show called “Brat Style” captured their chemistry best – Joy has successfully gone on to branch out her design ideas into art and theatre (including Karen O’s “psycho-opera” Stop the Virgens) while dreaming up new ways to bring her batty concepts into manageable doses for everyday life.

A new limited-run collaboration with Vans marks a brilliant step in that direction. For the brand’s Classics 25th Anniversary, Joy was invited to customize a music-themed series of sneakers, totes and t-shirts in her trademark scattershot, maximalist style – a smart and relatively low-risk way for curious fans to snag a piece of Joy’s sui generis.

Here are some bands and fans who will certainly sang some of the limited fashion. Rock it with Vans from Warped Tour 2012, to fashion with Christian Joy.